The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 9 Softball places three on 2022 Preseason All-Big 12 Team
01.20.2022 | Softball
Janae Jefferson (unanimous), Mary Iakopo & Shea O’Leary all earned selection to the 12-member squad
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 9 Texas softball squad put three student-athletes on the 12-member 2022 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team as super senior second baseman Janae Jefferson (unanimous choice), super senior catcher/utility player Mary Iakopo and junior pitcher Shea O'Leary all earned nods.
Only four league programs had student-athletes selected as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State led the way with four inclusions each, while Texas followed with three and Iowa State had one.
As one of just two unanimous choices to the 2022 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team and a recent selection to the 2022 USA Softball Women's National Team, Jefferson preps to enter her super senior campaign on the Forty Acres as the all-time program leader in both batting average (.431 – current Big 12 career leader) and total hits (270). The Humble, Texas, product is also within sight of the league career hit mark (332) established last season by Iowa State standout Sami Williams. Jefferson led the Longhorns during 2021 in batting average (.446), hits (75), on-base percentage (.495) and steals (14), while rating second in runs scored (49) and third in total bases (100).
Iakopo preps for her final year in the Burnt Orange & White as one of the team's most feared offensive threats as the Carson, Calif., product enters 2022 with a combined 39 career HR's and 150 RBIs. During her 2021 NFCA All-Central Region campaign, Iakopo led the Longhorns in HR's (16) & slugging percentage (.685), while rating second in total bases (102) & RBIs (45). Last year, she posted a career-long 15-game hitting streak from March 12-April 2 and a career-best 17-game reached base streak from March 6-April 2. Iakopo also managed 13 multi-RBI efforts, including a 2-for-2, two-HR, five-RBI performance in a win at Houston (March 3), and led the way at No. 1 Oklahoma by hitting .600 (3-for-5) during the series with two walks.
Another of Texas' 2021 NFCA All-Central Region selections, O'Leary is coming off a strong campaign that saw her go 16-6 from the circle with a 1.82 ERA, 15 complete games, six solo shutouts and 121 strikeouts over a team-high 161.2 innings of work. Last season, the Castaic, Calif., product registered high-profile victories over Wichita State, No. 25 Mississippi State, No. 15 Louisiana, Texas Tech (two). Iowa State (two) and Baylor (two). Included among those triumphs were a career-high 11 strikeouts against Texas Tech and a complete-game shutout over nationally-ranked Louisiana. She will enter 2022 with a 36-9 career record, a 1.47 ERA (fifth in UT career record book), 28 complete games, 13 shutouts and 219 K's over 309 innings.
2022 PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 SOFTBALL TEAM
Name, School, Position
Mikayla Ramos, Iowa State, C
Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma, Utility
Jayda Coleman, Oklahoma, Utility
Kinzie Hansen, Oklahoma, C
Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma, IF*
Hayley Busby, Oklahoma State, OF
Chyenne Factor, Oklahoma State, OF
Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma State, P
Kiley Naomi, Oklahoma State, IF
MARY IAKOPO, TEXAS, C
JANAE JEFFERSON, TEXAS, IF*
SHEA O'LEARY, TEXAS, RHP
*-Unanimous selection
